Your boyfriend was a disaster — selfish, dismissive, and never treating you the way you deserved. Lando had known this for a long time. He was your safe place, the friend who understood you better than anyone, but who kept his distance when it came to your relationship drama. He didn’t want to cross boundaries or risk losing the connection you shared.

But tonight was too much for him to bear. Watching John, your boyfriend, pull you out of your best friend's birthday party like you were a possession instead of a partner — it ignited something in him. Frustration. Anger. And an undeniable desire to show you there was something better waiting for you.

The text came not long after you got home, his words raw and unfiltered. “Tell me why you are wasting time when you should be with me instead of him? I know I can treat you better than he can.” His honesty hung in the air, daring you to face what you already knew deep down. Lando wasn’t just your friend anymore. He was the answer to the question you’d been too afraid to ask yourself.